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VIETNAM / CAMBODIA

Adventures Afloat: Angkor Wat and the Mekong River: Life along the Mekong in Cambodia and Vietnam

Description: Surrounded by a downtown ambiance, handicraft shops, restaurants - Grand Hotel, a modern comfort in a very classical French atmosphere and architecture since 1930, is an ideal place for businessmen, travellers as well as the ones who seeking rest and entertainment.

Description: Surrounded by a downtown ambiance, handicraft shops, restaurants - Grand Hotel, a modern comfort in a very classical French atmosphere and architecture since 1930, is an ideal place for businessmen, travellers as well as the ones who seeking rest and entertainment.

Day Four: Monday, January 13 - History of Vietnam/City Orientation/City Field Tr...

Note: Will need to be able to walk nearly 2 miles. Must be able to keep up with group in busy streets with noise and lots of movement.

Breakfast: Breakfast buffet at hotel.

Morning: After breakfast transfer to the National University for a lecture on the History of Vietnam, then enjoy tea with University students. Speak with these students about the cultural climate of today's Vietnam.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: The vibrant city of Saigon is a thriving metropolis reflecting Vietnam's contentious past as well as its fast-forwarding future. On a walking tour, take notice of the past and present as you take a city orientation admist intricate traditional French colonial architecture, Chinese pagodas and sleek skyscrapers. Visit such sites as the Rex Hotel, the People's Committee Building, Notre Dame Cathedral and the General Post Office. Continue down Le Duan to the Reunification Palace (the former Presidential Palace) built as a modern administrative center. Then continue to the War Remnants Museum, which holds a large collection of weapons, machinery, artifacts and photographs illustrating the War.

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Bathroom: Bathroom with showers only.

Day Six: Wednesday, January 15 - My Tho/Ci Be/Vinh Long

Note: This will be an active day. Though there won't be a lot of walking, participants must be able to easily climb ladders on the side of the barge. Participants must also be comfortable getting in and out small wooden boats at least 3 to 4 times a day.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Arrive at My Tho. On the banks of a northern arm of the Mekong, My Tho, which translates as "fragrant herb", is where vistors come to discover the beauty of the delta. It's a quiet, prosperous city of about 100,000 inhabitants, famous for its many fruit orchards, gardens and the huge rice fields that surround it. The climate is warm and pleasant year round. Here, disembark the barge and transfer to a coach to Vihn Trang Pagoda. Then continue to Cai Dai temple and the noodle factory.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: Continue for Vinh Long - a brick and pottery factory, the Binh Hoa Phuoc Islet Nursery of fruit trees as well as a typical house and a show room of traditional farming tools.
Vinh Long, which translates as "Majestic Dragon", is right in the middle of the delta, between two arms of the Mekong. The soil of Vinh Long is enriched by silt deposits, making it ideal for growing mandarins and other citrus fruits. Life is organized around the water. Houses on stilts, hawkers on boats, hundreds of small crafts crisscross in all directions.

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Bathroom: Bathroom with showers only.

Day Seven: Thursday, January 16 - Sa Dec / Chau Doc

Note: Must be able to comfortably walk anywhere from 1 to 1/12 mile in the morning.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: Arrival at Sa Dec and transfer to Trung Vuong primary school and visit with the students there. Stroll around Sa Dec Market along Sa Dec River bank. This small city of 30,000 inhabitants is fascinating in its unspoiled authenticity and undisturbed by visitors. It provides a glimpse of the delta where a few colonial houses still remain, including the "Chinaman's house" (from Duras' novel "The Lover", also made into a movie). Return to the boat with stopover at a nursery of flower and bonsai trees. Famous for its horticulture (it has many varieties of fabulously exotic flowers) Sa Dec was known as the "Garden of Cochin Chine" during colonial times.

Lunch: Lunch on board ship.

Afternoon: Take a field trip to Sam Mountain, the highest elevation on the Mekong provides a spectacular view of the region's Rice Paddies and canal system and the Cambodian border. Stop at a few spots to look at some of the temples such as Tay An Pagoda, the Temple of Lady Xu and the Tomb of Thoai Ngoc Hau.

Dinner: Dinner at Victoria Hotel.

Evening: Overnight onboard at the jetty of the hotel; passengers are free to enjoy the hotel facilities (swimming pool, billiards, bar, internet) or stroll in Chau Doc.

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Morning: Depart for the Vietnamese Cambodian border. Arrival at Vinh Xuong check-point in Vietnam and obtain your visa. The Toum Tiou undergoes some formalities as it clears through the border.
The ship leaves the border and proceeds toward Phnom Penh.

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Morning: This morning, learn about the recent tragedy of Cambodia. This morning's presentation serves as a precursor to the depredations of the Khmer Rouge followed by a field trip to Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where thousands of Cambodians were executed for unwarrented crimes. Then return to town to visit the the S-21 (Tuol Sleng) Interrogation Center, where Cambodians were tortured and forced to confess to crimes they did not commit. Through these visits, you will hopefully gain a better understanding of the recent tragic period in Cambodian History, the scars it left, and how it affects both the social and economic development in the country today.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Free afternoon to explore Phnom Penh. Visit one of the local markets, walk the city streets, or just relax.

Dinner: Dinner on board the boat.

Evening: Enjoy an 'Apsara' dance preformance. As evidenced in part by the innumerable apsaras (celestial dancers) that adorn the walls of Angkorian and pre-Angkorian temples, this dance has been a part of Khmer culture for more than a millennium.

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Bathroom: Bathroom with showers only.

Day Ten: Sunday, January 19 - Royal Palace/National Museum/Kampong Tralach

Note: Will be walking and standing on and off for at least 3 to 4 hours minium.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: This morning, step back to ancient time in Phnom Penh renowned for its traditional Khmer and French influenced architecture. Start in the ancient past by exploring the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, finishing the afternoon at the National Museum. The National Museum in Phnom Penh is the most significant public repository of Khmer artifacts in the country, displaying many important Angkorian artifacts and rare pieces from later periods.

Lunch: Lunch on board the boat.

Afternoon: Arrive at Kampong Tralach to visit its wonderful Vihara belonging to Wat Kampong Tralach Leu pagoda. To get to it, cross Kampong Tralach Krom village along a small road perpendicular to the river, crossing some gorgeous stretches of emerald rice paddy. The Vihara dates back to early last century. It was probably built on an older site, as indicated by the laterite foundations. The Vihara is home to some outstanding mural paintings. Standing by itself in the middle of rice fields, it is a modest pagoda that receives very few visitors. Its isolation may well be its undoing, as was the case for Wat Tani Pagoda in the province of Kampot.

Room amenities: It has 10 comfortable cabins (10.83 ft x 8.20 ft), 4 on the first deck and 6 on the second, each air-conditioned and with a private bathroom (8.20 ft x 4.59 ft) including toilet, shower and sink featuring a fan, one 220V plugs, and one 115V (razor outlet).

Smoking policy: NoSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Bathroom: Bathroom with showers only.

Day Eleven: Monday, January 20 - Kampong Chhnang / Chnuok True

Note: Must be comfortable climbing up and down the barage ladder. Will require that participants get in and out of small wodden boats. Must be able to be active between sitting and standing for at least 4 hours a day.

Breakfast: Breakfast on board the boat.

Morning: A great day awaits you in Kampong Chhnang village, or Pottery Village, where villagers still produce pottery using traditional methods. Located some 56 miles from Phnom Penh, the town of Kampong Chnang is one of the largest fishing ports on the Tonle Sap. Fish farming is also widely practiced in the area. The area is famous for its pottery ware, unchanged in style for centuries, which is produced in sufficient quantities to supply the entire country. The village has other products that are not to be overlooked such as the Thnot tree (sugar palm a real national symbol) that abounds in the area: a mellow tasting, caramel-colored sugar sold in large cakes and palm wine.

Description: The Tara Angkor is equipped with modern amenities and elegantly furnished to make your stay luxurious and enjoyable. With exceptionally warm hospitality and traditional Cambodian sincerity and kindness your stay will be something not to be forgotten.

Facility amenities: The Tara Angkor Hotel's stylish 4 star property has cemented its status as one of the jewels in Siem Reap’s accommodation sector. Our facilities include 213 magnificent rooms and suites, two restaurants, a lobby bar, and a swimming pool with jacuzzi, fitness center and sauna.

Smoking policy: YesSmoking policies vary by facility. During all group events and activities, smoking is prohibited.

Important information about your itinerary: Please know that while we do everything we can to finalize all aspects of our programs well in advance, there are logistics that occasionally must be altered. Our website will reflect the most recent information, and we are committed to providing you with final program details no later than eight weeks prior to the start of programs outside the U.S. and three weeks prior to the start of programs within the U.S. If you ever have questions about your program, please don't hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to assist you.

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The latest in light, portable, easy-to-use QUIETVOX listening devices are available on Road Scholar programs.* Whether you are outdoors, in a crowd or in a museum environment where speaking loudly is discouraged, a listening device makes it feel like our experts are speaking clearly and directly to you. Hear for yourself on a Road Scholar adventure!

*Please note that due to the nature of some programs, the remote location or government regulations, listening devices may not be available. If you’d like to know for sure if your program will offer listening devices, just call and ask an Advisor!